Lactalis McLelland has announced a sponsorship deal for its Seriously and President brands with Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me.

The sponsorship, which runs for a year, is part of wider marketing campaign aimed at raising awareness of both brands among key target audiences.

The initiative will give Seriously and President exposure on Channel 4 platforms, E4 and More 4, as well as the main channel.

The sponsorship arrangement will see a 15-second Seriously/President bumper at the start of each episode, followed by five-second bumpers either side of each commercial break and a ten-second bumper at the end of the show.

Mike Chatters, sales director for Lactalis McLelland, said: “We are delighted to announce the sponsorship of such a popular TV show, which provides a perfect fit for our Seriously and President brands. Come Dine With Me achieves strong coverage across our consumer portfolio and therefore delivers synergy with our core shopper. We are looking forward to the new series airing in the summer and will continue to build brand awareness while activating our association with Channel 4.”

The Seriously brand, which includes Seriously Cheddar and Seriously Spreadable, continues to go from strength to strength. In the last 12 months, Seriously Cheddar has shown exceptional value growth of 74.3%, while Seriously Spreadable is also showing double digit growth of 12.7% in value terms (IRI Data, Major Multiples, 52 w/e 31 March 2018). 

The £28.7 million Président brand, which operates across both cheese and butter categories, is performing well with growth of 10.9% in value and 1.5% in volume terms (IRI Data, Major Multiples, 52 w/e 31 March 2018). Key products in the range include Président Brie, Président Camembert and PrésidentButter. The sponsorship of Come Dine With Me forms part of a £1.6 million marketing campaign for the Président brand in 2018.

Come Dine With Me, which sees strangers take turns hosting what they consider to be the ultimate dinner party and compete to be crowned the top dinner party host, is one of Channel 4’s most popular entertainment shows.